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HISTORIC LITCHFIELD 



1721-1907 



HISTORIC LITCHFIELD 

1721-1907 

BEING A SHORT ACCOUNT 

OF THE 

HISTORY OF THE OLD HOUSES OF LITCHFIELD 

COMPILED FROM 

KILBOURN'S HISTORY OF LITCHFIELD, GEO. C. WOODRUFF'S HISTORY 
OF THE TOWN OF LITCHFIELD, KILBOURN'S HISTORY OF LITCH- 
FIELD TRADITION, THE LITCHFIELD COUNTY CENTENNIAL 
CELEBRATION, THE LITCHFIELD BOOK OF DAYS, 
AND CHRONICLES OF A PIONEER SCHOOL 



By ALICE T. BULKELEY 



ILLUSTRATED FROM ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE COMPILER 

(Second Edition) 



HARTFORD PRESS: 

The Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company 

1907 






UlnnXHYof CONGRESS 



I wo Cooles Received 

GEP 8 I90f 

Caoynetvt entry 

cus?A w*., lio. 

COPY D. 



Copyright 1907 

by 

ALICE T. BULKELEY 



[1- 153° 



TO 

ALL LOVERS OF LITCHFIELD 

THIS LITTLE BOOK 
IS DEDICATED 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



to face page 
South Street Title. 

Bantam Lake, IO 

The Vaill Homestead, 12 

Oliver Wolcott House, I3 

H. B. Belden House, I+ 

W. H. Sanford House, I+ 

Reeve-Woodruff House, I5 

Residence of Col. Geo. B. Sanford, x 6 

Episcopal Rectory I ( ) 

Hubbard House and Wolcott Elm, over 125 years old, ... 17 

The Champlin House, ig 

The Seymour Homestead, 18 

Gould House, owned by Mrs. J. Mason Hoppin, .... 19 

Tallmadge House, owned by Mrs. John Vanderpoel, ... 20 

Residence of Hon. J. Deming Perkins, 21 

North Street in October, 22 

The Litchfield Hills, 23 

Brick Oven Fire-Place in a Litchfield House, 24 

Historical Society Pewter, 24 

Litchfield Gardens, 25 

Residence of Mrs. Henry R. Coit, 26 

Residence of Mrs. E. L. Ferry, 26 

Buel Homestead, 27 

Residence of Dr. John L. Buel, 27 

Spring Hill Sanatorium 28 

The Roberts House 2 g 

Phelps House, 30 

Library Corner, 30 

United States Hotel 3I 

Roberts' Corner, 3I 

The Edson Perkins House, 32 



The Hawkhurst Hotel, 



33 



Mile Stone, 33 

Club House, 3+ 

Club House Tennis Courts, 34 . 

Litchfield Antique Silver and Glass as shown at D. A. R. Exhibi- 
tion, August, 1903, 35 

County Jail and Whipping Post Elm, 3 6 

A Corner of the George Junior Republic, 3 7 



INDEX 



PAGE 
House of — 

Adams, Chief Justice, . 28 

Allen, Ethan, . . .17 
Andrews, Judge Charles B., 17 
Beecher, Dr. Lyman, . . 27 

Belden, The Misses . -15 
Bissell, Jerome and Warren, 31 
Brace, John P., . . 23 

Buel, Dr. John L., . . 28 
Buel, Miss Mary, . . .36 
Buel, The Misses, . . -27 
Champlin, Edward E., . 18 
Coit, Mrs. Henry R., . . 29 
Daniels, C. F., . . . 16 
Deming, Frederick, . . 23 
Ferry, Mrs. E. L., . . 11, 27 
Goddard, Mrs. F. Norton, . 36 
Hoppin, Mrs. J. Mason, 11, 19 
Hubbard, Mrs. John H., 17 

Jones, Henry R., . . . 27 
Jones, Miss Henrietta, . . 17 
Kenney, George B., . -31 
Lord, Miss, . . . .28 
Maxwell, Mrs. W. H., . . 27 
Perkins, Hon. J. Deming, 21,22 
Perkins, Edson L., . .31 
Phelps, Miss Mary L., . 30 

Pierce, Miss Sarah, . 23, 24 
Reeve, Judge Tapping, . 15 
Richards, Rev. George, . 27 
Richards, Rev. James, . . 27 
Roberts, Elbert P., . . . 29 
Sanctum, The, . . .36 
Sanford, Col. Geo. B., . . 16 
Sanford, William H., . . 18 
Seymour, Episcopal Rectory, 18 
Seymour, Morris, . . .18 
Sheldon, Dr. Daniel, . . 22 
Tallmadge, Col. Benjamin, 

.11, 20, 21, 22 
Underwood, F. L., . . . 23 
Vaill, Joseph H., . . .13 
Vanderpoel, Mrs. John, . 20 
Van Winkel, Miss Mary, . 28 
Wallbridge, W. G., . . 17 
Woodruff, Charles H. (Reeve- 
Woodruff), . . .15 
Woodruff, Morris, . . 17 

Wolcott, Oliver, Sr., . 10, 13, 

14, 21, 32 . 
Wolcott, Oliver Jr., . 13, 16, 32 
Wolcott Farm-House, . .13 
Wright, Rev. W. G., M. A., 17 



PAGE 

Miscellaneous — 

Bank, First National of Litch- 
field, 33 

Bantam Lake, ... 9 
Cathedral of Lichfield, Eng., 

Stone from, . . . 32 
Cemetery, . . . -32 
China Trading Company, 

Litchfield, . . . .22 
Cincinnati, Society of the, . 21 
Club House, The Litchfield, 34 
Churches — 

First Congregational, . . 31 
St. Michael's Protestant Epis- 
copal, . . . .31 
Methodist Episcopal, . . 32 
St. Anthony's Roman Cath- 
olic, 32 

Court House, . . . -36 
County Jail, . . . -36 

D.A.R., Mary Floyd Tallmadge 

Chapter, . . . -35 
Enquirer, The Litchfield, . 32, 33 
Fire Department Building, The 

Litchfield, . . . -33 

Golf Club, 34 

George Junior Republic, Litchfield 

Branch, . . -36, 37 
Hawkhurst, The, . . . . 34 
Hill, Wolf-Pit, . . .12 

Historical Society, The Litchfield, 3 5 



Hotel, United States, 

Law School, Litchfield, . 

Litchfield in 1810, 

Litchfield Lyceum, 

Library, Litchfield Public, . 

Manual Labor High School of 

Litchfield County, 
Mile Stone, .... 
Mt. Tom, .... 
Post Road, First, . 
Prospect Mountain, 
Sanatoriums — 

Dr. Alanson Abbey's Sana 

torium for cripples, . 
Spring Hill, 
Schools — 

Miss Pierce's Female Acad- 
emy, ... 23, 24, 25 
Elm Park Collegiate Insti- 
tute 27 

Miss Henrietta Jones' School 
for Young Ladies, . . 17 



30, <?i 

15, 16 

• 25 

. 26 

26, 34 

26 
9 
9 

25 
9 



Vlll 



Schools — 

The Wolcott Institute, . . 17 

The Foster School, . . 34 
School for Business Students, 

etc., 26 

Scientific Society, Litchfield, . 35 

Shepaug Valley R. R., . . 33 

Temperance, Six Sermons on, . 27 

Temperance Pledge, . . .26 
Vacation Home, Shepherd Knapp, 37 

Village Improvement Society, . 33 

Ye Old Curiosity Shoppe, . . 30 
Personages — 

Abbey, Dr. Alanson, . . 18 

Adams, Chief Justice, . . 28 

Adams, Mrs Mary, . . 28 

Allen, Ethan, . . -17 
Andrews, Judge Charles B., 17 

Bacon, Judge, . . .29 

Beach, Mrs. Theron, . . 22 

Beecher, Dr. Lyman, . . 27 

Beecher, Henry Ward, . . 27 

Buel, Deacon John, . . 9, 10 

Buel, Dr. Henry W., . . 28 

Buel, Miss Mary, . . .36 

Burr, Aaron, . . -15 

Bushnell, Rev. Horace, . 27 

Calhoun, Judge John C., . 18 

Child, Mrs. Nathaniel R., . 22 

Collins, Rev. Timothy, . . 30 

Deming, Miss Lucretia, . 22 

Deming, Julius, . . .21 

Edwards, The Misses, . . 29 

Edwards, President, . . 29 

Gould, Judge James, . . 20 



Personages — 

Hollister, Hon. Gideon H., 15, 23 
Huntington, Judge J. W., . 16 
Lafayette, Gen., 10, 13, 15, 21, 30 
Lord, Augustus, . . .28 
Marsh, Lieutenant John, 9, 10 
Matthews, Mayor of New 

York, . . . .36 

Reeve, Judge Tapping, 

. 11, 15, 16, 20 
Richards, Rev. George, . 27 
Rochambeau, Gen., . . 10 
Sheldon, Dr. Daniel, . . 22 
Seymour, Major Moses, 18, 36 
Seymour, Origen S., . .18 
Seymour, Ozias, . . .18 
Tallmadge, Col. Benjamin, 

11, 20, 21, 22 
Tracey, Gen. Uriah, . . 20 
Vaill, Capt. Joseph, . . 12 
Vaill, Benjamin, . . .12 
Vaill, Rev. Hermon Landon, 12 
Vaill Dr. Charles, . . 12 
Vaill, Theodore F., . . 12 
Washington, Gen. George, 

10, 11, 13, 15, 20, 21 
Weller, Oliver, . . .29 
Woodruff, George C, . -19 
Woodruff, Morris, . . 17 
Wolcott, Ursula, . . -14 
Wolcott, Frederick, . 13, 14 
Wolcott, Oliver Sr., 

10, 13, 14, 21, 32 
Wolcott, Oliver Jr., 13, 16, 32 



HISTORIC LITCHFIELD, 

1721 -1907, 



The town of Litchfield, Conn., the county seat, situated 
on a ridge looking off in every direction on the beautiful 
hills of Litchfield county, in the northwestern part of the 
state, and adjoining the Berkshires of Massachusetts fame, 
is of much interest today as a summer resort both on account 
of its present beauty and past historical importance. Its 
fine and bracing air, incidental to its elevation of n 13 feet 
above the sea level, has its tonic effect upon those making 
their permanent home here as well as upon visitors in search 
of health as well as pleasure. The site of Litchfield on a 
ridge is said to have been chosen by the early settlers on 
account of its adaptability for defense against predatory 
savages, tradition pointing out places where stood the ancient 
block houses. 

The ancient milestone, giving its distance from New 
York by the old King's highway as 102 miles, may still be 
seen just outside the village in front of Elm Ridge, the 
home of Mrs. Edwin McNeil. 

There are beautiful drives in every direction, Bantam 
Lake, the largest lake in Connecticut, covering about 900 
acres, being about three miles distant. Mt. Tom, six miles 
southwest of the village in the direction of the Lake, and 
its round top visible from all points, is 1500 feet above tide 
water. From Prospect Mountain, four miles west of the 
Court House, may be seen The Catskills. 

Litchfield township was founded in 1720-21 by Deacon 
John Buel of Lebanon, Lieutenant John Marsh of Hartford, 
and fifty-five others, " petitioners under committees from 
Hartford and Windsor (which towns at that time held the 



10 

title for the 'Western Lands,' as the northwestern part 
of the state, then a wilderness, was called) , praying liberty 
to settle a town westward of Farmington at a place called 
Bantam." The new town to be called Litchfield and named 
from Lichfield, England; the first town of the name in the 
United States, six or seven others being so named later. 

The first settlers were Captain Jacob Griswold of 
Wethersfield, John Peck of Hartford, and Ezekiel Buck of 
Wethersfield, who brought their families here, built log 
houses on their home lots and moved into them during the 
summer of 1720. John Buel and John Marsh were the two 
most conspicuous men in the early history of the town. 

In 175 1, Litchfield County was organized, there being 
great rivalry between Litchfield and Goshen as to which 
should become the Shire town. The latter being situated 
directly in the centre of the new county, many people, includ- 
ing Oliver Wolcott, afterwards Governor of the state, settled 
in Goshen, expecting it to be the Shire town. But Litchfield 
carried off the honor, giving its name in consequence to the 
county. The pioneers were agriculturists, a gristmill, saw- 
mill, blacksmith, and clothiers being all the trade. At first 
only cart horses and pillion or ox cart in summer, and ox 
sled and snowshoes in winter, were available for traveling 
from place to place, four-wheeled carts not being in use until 
after the Revolution. Spinning wheels were to be found 
in every house, and the County town was a common centre 
during the terms of the courts. 

A stranger today is struck with the beauty of the stately 
elms which border the broad level streets. A few new houses 
are seen but the majority of the dwellings belong to the 
past, the dates over the doorways showing some of them to 
be well into their second century. Many of them are in- 
teresting from historical associations, as Washington, La- 
fayette, Rochambeau, and other Revolutionary celebrities 
honored the village with their presence. Washington's first 
visit to Litchfield was August 23d, 1780, when he spent the 
night, leaving the next day for West Point, Litchfield being 
on the stage-coach line between Hartford and West Point, 




BANTAM LAKE 





BANTAM LAKE 



II 



and Boston and New York. There were some trees stand- 
ing, when the town was laid out, but our present fine trees 
did not form a canopy over the head of Washington. The 
hoary-headed sycamores now standing, one in front of the 
Catholic church and one at the corner of East and South 
streets, were then newly planted, the first Oliver Wolcott 
having set them out with eleven others, giving to each the 
name of one of the thirteen original states. 

There were few houses standing at this period; opposite 
the Wolcott homestead was the home of Judge Tapping 
Reeve, of later Law School fame, and next below the Wol- 
cott house, the present Belden house was then occupied by 
Reynold Marvin, the last king's attorney of the county, 
Just north of the house stood a little office where Colonel 
Kirby, son-in-law to Reynold Marvin, prepared the first law 
reports ever published in this country. 

The old Congregational church was on the site of the 
present monument. On North street, the Tallmadge house, 
Shelden's Tavern, now owned by Mrs. J. Mason Hoppin, 
and the Deming house, now owned by Mrs. Ferry, were the 
only houses seen by Washington which are still standing. 
On the site of the Sanatorium, a large building was used for 
military stores, another where the Court House now stands. 
At the foot of East hill was a workshop for the army, sixty 
feet long and two stories high. 

On Washington's second visit in 1 78 1 and a third visit 
later he stayed at Sheldon's Tavern, the Hoppin house of 
today. Washington once held a public reception at the 
house of his aide-de-camp, Col. Benjamin Tallmadge, on 
North street, now the summer home of Mrs. John Vander- 
poel of New York, the great-granddaughter of Colonel 
Tallmadge, who was a member of the regiment which went 
out from Litchfield, and who performed such brilliant ex- 
ploits that he received the public thanks of Washington. 

It may be interesting to the visitor of today walking 
up the shaded streets to know the history of some of the 
interesting old houses. The Vaill Homestead, situated 



12 

about two miles west of the center, is the oldest house 
in the township. It was built in 1744 by Capt. Joseph 
Vaill, on land which was described in the deed as " Wolf- 
Pit Hill." The location of the Wolf-Pit, is still remem- 
bered. The construction was simple but effective ; an excava- 
tion in the ground was surmounted by heavy logs so arranged 
that they would fall upon and crush a wolf when it tugged at 
the " bait " fastened to a figure-4 trap underneath. The 
original design of the Homestead was the well-known lean- 
to of that period. At a later date the longer roof was cut 
off, leaving the two roofs of equal length. The stairway 
in the main portion is about five feet in width, and rises under 
an arch formed by union of the two brick chimneys in the 
north and south rooms. It is probable that a large stone 
chimney originally occupied the space of the present stair- 
way and that the present brick chimneys and the broad 
straight stairway, were subsequent improvements. In 1853 
the old stone chimney and its no longer required huge oven 
were removed and later other changes and additions were 
made bringing the appearance of the house as it is to-day. 
The second owner of the Homestead was Benjamin Vaill, 
youngest of the nine children of Capt. Joseph Vaill, who 
lived there for 80 years, until his death in 1852. It was next 
in possession of the Rev. Herman Landon Vaill, eldest son 
of Benjamin after his retirement from pastoral service. In 
1870, it came into the possession of his family, the present 
owners. The homestead has remained continuously in the 
same family for over 160 years, an unusual circumstance. 
Among the descendants of Capt. Joseph Vaill, Dr. Charles 
Vaill of Rochester, N. Y., a wit whose sparkling humor 
is said to have done his patients more good than his prescrip- 
tions did, in reference to the fact that the Litchfield branch 
of the Vaill family adheres to the two Fs in the spelling of 
the name, was once asked why he didn't drop one of his l's 
1 He said he didn't know which one to drop.' 

Theodore F. Vaill, another descendant of Capt. Joseph, 
was adjutant and historian of the Second Connecticut Heavy 



13 

Artillery in the Civil War, editor of the Winsted Herald 
from 1865 to 1875, author of the " ixineid in Modern 
American," a humorous translation of the First and Fourth 
Books of Virgil's iEneid; and Joseph H. Vaill, the present 
owner, was for many years editor of the Winsted Herald, 
and Connecticut representative as executive officer at the 
Columbian Exposition of 1893, The Atlanta Exposition of 
1895, and The Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. 

The Wolcott house on South street is the oldest now 
standing in the village. Governor Roger Wolcott of Wind- 
sor left by will a tract of land on South street to his son 
Oliver, on which the latter built in 1752 the Wolcott house. 
The Wolcott farm and farmhouse were on the other side of 
the street on the site of the Lindley and Andrews places. 
This Oliver Wolcott was Governor of the state, one of the 
signers of the Declaration of Independence, and took a mem- 
orable part in the struggle for freedom. In this house he 
entertained George Washington, General Lafayette, and 
many other prominent men of the time. In the house were 
born Oliver Wolcott, Jr., and Frederick Wolcott, called the 
handsomest and most accomplished gentleman of the state. 

Oliver Wolcott, Sr., though born in Windsor in 1726, 
became a resident of Litchfield when he was twenty-five 
years of age, and hence his fame, subsequently achieved, as 
really belongs to the town as though he had been born here. 
He graduated at Yale College in 1745, took up the study of 
medicine and established himself as a physician in Goshen. 
On the founding of Litchfield County, he was appointed by 
the Legislature, First High Sheriff of the new county, which 
office he held for twenty years. In consequence of this ap- 
pointment he moved to Litchfield in 175 1. He was chosen 
a representative to the Legislature five times, was a member 
of the Council or Upper House from 177 1 to 1786, Judge 
of the Court of Probate of the District of Litchfield from 

1772 to 1795, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas from 

1773 to 1786, and member of the Continental Congress 
from 1775 to 1784 with the exception of two years. In 




i"j6 } as above mentioned, he was one of the memorable 
band of patriots who affixed their names to the Declaration 
of Independence. He was Brigadier-General in the army, 
Commissioner of Indian affairs, Major-General of the militia 
of Connecticut, was a member of the Committee of Safety, 
and at the same time held many important positions in the 
government of the town. No man in the State at this period 
discharged so many and varied public duties. A consider- 
able share of the reputation which Connecticut acquired, for 
promptness in furnishing men and means for the army was 
due to General Wolcott. Certainly to no other individual in 
the western counties could Governor Trumbull or General 
Washington appeal for aid with the certainty of success as 
to him. In 1786 he was elected Lieutenant-Governor of the 
State and was annually re-elected for ten years. In 1796 he 
was chosen governor, and re-elected the following year. 
He died in 1797, aged seventy-one years. Ursula Wolcott, 
a sister of Governor Wolcott, married Governor Matthew 
Griswold, and was the mother of Governor Roger Griswold. 
Thus her father, brother, husband, son, and nephew were 
all governors of Connecticut, a fact which cannot probably 
be said of any other lady who ever lived in the State or 
United States. 

The leaden statue of King George the Third, unveiled 
on Bowling Green, New York City, in 1770, was torn down 
in 1776 after the signing of the Declaration of Independ- 
ence, secretly brought to Litchfield and melted into 42,088 
bullets in the apple orchard back of the house. The bullets 
were forwarded to the Continental soldiers in order that 
the king's troops might have melted majesty fired at them. 
The two daughters and young son of General Wolcott, and 
daughters and wives of many of the Litchfield patriots as- 
sisted in the melting and moulding of the bullets. 

After the Revolution the Wolcotts went into trade, Gov- 
ernor Wolcott with his brother the Hon. Frederick making 
the experiment in the manufacture of woolen cloths which 
was disastrous to them but the parent of the subsequent 




H. B. BELDEN HOUSE 




W. H. SANFORD HOUSE 




REEVE— WOODRUFF HOUSE-FRONT 
Owned by Mr. Chas. H. Woodruff 




REEVE— WOODRUFF HOUSE-SOUTH SIDE 



15 

prosperity of Wolcottville, now Torrington. Also with two 
other gentlemen, trading direct with London and China, 
as more definitely described later. The Wolcott house 
passed through various hands, and has recently been added 
to and modernized by its present owner, Miss Alice Wolcott 
of New York. The Belden house next below on South 
street, was built by Reynold Marvin, king's attorney in the 
time of George III. The house was enlarged by Phineas 
Bradley and later occupied by the Hon. Gideon H. Hollister, 
historian of Connecticut and later minister to Hayti under 
the Johnson administration. It is now owned by the grand- 
children of Mrs. H. B. Belden, who bought the house from 
Mr. Hollister. 

Directly opposite the Wolcott house is the Reeve-Wood- 
ruff house, one of the most interesting in town on account of 
its connection with the first law school in the United States. 
Tapping Reeve, a graduate of the college of New Jersey, now 
Princeton, married Sally Burr, a sister of Aaron Burr, and 
grandaughter of President Jonathan Edwards. He came 
to Litchfield in 1772, and in 1773 bu ilt the Reeve house. 
There he founded the first law school of the country in 1784, 
of which he was principal for forty years. He entertained 
at his home the most prominent men of his time, Washing- 
ton, Lafayette, Aaron Burr, and many others of note. He 
was Judge of the Superior Court and Chief Justice of the 
State. 

He was very absent-minded, and on one occasion he is 
said to have been seen walking up North street with a bridle 
in his hand minus the horse, the latter having quietly slipped 
out and walked off. Never noticing this serious omission, 
the learned jurist calmly fastened the bridle to a post and 
walked into the house. 

Up to 1784 there had been no professorships of law in 
the colleges, nor was law treated as a liberal science. He 
conducted the school alone until 1798, when having been 
appointed to the bench of the Superior Court, he associated 
with him Judge Gould. They conducted the school together 



i6 

until the age of Judge Reeve forced his retirement. Judge 
Gould continued the school alone until a few years before 
his death, when J. W. Huntington, who had been associated 
with him, continued it a few years until he became Judge 
and United States Senator and consequently left Litchfield. 
Judge Reeve first gave law a place among the liberal 
studies in this country. A new subject of study, the Con- 
stitution of the United States and the legislation of Con- 
gress, required uniformity of interpretation. 

More than a thousand lawyers from all parts of the 
colony were educated at this law school, and learned the 
same principles and modes of legal thinking, then dissemi- 
nated them through the country. After Judge Gould's con- 
nection with the school, went out from it one vice-president 
of the United States, two Judges of the United States Su- 
preme Court, forty Judges of the highest state courts, 
thirteen Senators, forty-six representatives in Congress, Cab- 
inet and Foreign ministers, and a new impulse was given to 
legal learning in this country. 

The small law school building stood just south of the 
house, and some years ago was moved to West street, and 
became the west half of the house of C. F. Daniels, opposite 
the Hawkhurst. The original interior is preserved as far as 
possible, and on one of the small old-fashioned windows are 
cut the names of several of the Edwards family. 

The Daniels house, this summer of 1907 put up at auc- 
tion to settle the Daniel's estate, was sold to D. C. Kilbourn 
representing, it is supposed, the Litchfield County Bar As- 
sociation. In the present General Assembly an effort is 
being made to get an appropriation to preserve the place for 
its historic value. 

It is probable the place will be kept as a point of history 
to visitors. 

On the same side of South street some distance farther 
south is the handsome residence owned by Colonel George B. 
Sanford and enlarged by him. This house was built by 
Elijah Wadsworth in 1799 and the third Governor Wolcott 




RESIDENCE OF COL. GEO B. SANFORD 




EPISCOPAL RECTORY 




HUBBARD HOUSE AND WOLCOTT ELM 



17 

came into occupancy in 1814. He was the projector of our 
present State Constitution and the first Governor under it, 
later Secretary of the United States Treasury under Wash- 
ington. In a part of the house next door now owned by Mr. 
W. G. Wallbridge was for a number of years a boarding- 
school for boys called The Wolcott Institute, and kept by 
Rev. W. G. Wright, M.A., Rector. 

On a fork of the road much farther down is a gambrel- 
roofed house with a sign stating that Ethan Allen was born 
there. Ethan Allen, the hero of Ticonderoga, was born in 
Litchfield in 1737, probably in a house on the West Goshen 
road. This house is said to have been moved to its present 
site, and may consequently be his birthplace, but not as it 
now stands. 

On the site of the Andrews place, a female seminary was 
established by Miss Henrietta Jones, a descendant of Gov- 
ernor Jones of the New Haven colony. This lady was cele- 
brated for her wit and the energy of her character. The 
house was burned and the Andrews house built on the site. 
Judge Charles B. Andrews, the owner of the house until his 
death, was Governor of the State, and later Chief Justice. 
He is the only citizen in the history of Connecticut who held 
the two highest offices in the gift of the State. 

The house next door owned by Mrs. John H. Hubbard, 
though not very old is a fine type of the best of the archi- 
tecture of the early nineteenth century, the doorways being 
especially fine. The piazza on the south is unique as being 
built around a hawthorn-tree, the tree acting as a roof and 
shade from the sun. The house was built about 1833 D Y 
Lyman Smith, of whom Morris Woodruff, grandfather of 
Mr. George M. Woodruff, bought it, living there for many 
years. In 1855 the house was bought by Mr. John H. Hub- 
bard, Congressman from 1863-67. As he was an ardent 
administration man Lincoln liked and trusted him. As 
Mr. and Mrs. Hubbard on one occasion were attending a 
White House reception, Lincoln spied them over the heads 
of those nearer him and called out heartily: "Why, here 



i8 

comes old Connecticut." Mr. Hubbard lived in the house 
with his family until his death. His wife and children now 
own the house and reside in it. 

The ancient elm at the right of the walk was brought 
from the swamp and set out by Frederick Wolcott when a 
youth and living with his father at the Wolcott homestead. 
It is one of the finest trees in town and about 125 years old. 

The Seymour house, now St. Michael's rectory, was built 
in 1784 by Samuel Seymour, the brother of Major Moses 
Seymour, who lived there until his death in the early nine- 
teenth century. The south wing was added about twenty or 
twenty-five years ago. The southeast room on the second 
floor was used by Calhoun when a law student. Samuel 
Seymour was a prominent resident of the town and a captain 
in the militia. He was famous for sharpening razors, and 
every morning the other members of the Seymour family 
used to come to his house where they kept their razors, and 
all shave at the same time. The house was bought in i860 
by Clarissa Seymour, widow of Rev. Truman Marsh, who 
gave it to St. Michael's Church for a rectory. 

The Seymour Homestead, three houses further north, 
was built by Major Moses Seymour in 1807 for his son 
Ozias Seymour who later built the addition as it is today. It 
descended to Origen S. Seymour, Chief Justice of Connec- 
ticut, whose son Morris Seymour came into possession in 
1904, the house having been continuously in the Seymour 
family since it was built 100 years ago. 

Across the street the Champlin house, an interesting old 
type, was built in 1796. It was used for 20 years as a 
tavern, later came into the possession of A. C. Smith whose 
daughter, Mrs. Champlin, owns it today. 

On the other side of the street a little farther south, is 
a fine type of house with massive pillars supporting the roof 
and piazza. This house is now owned by Mr. William H. 
Sanford and was built about 1832 by Dr. Alanson Abbey, 
who at one time housed a sanitarium for cripples in it. The 




THE CHAMPLIN HOUSE 




THE SEYMOUR HOMESTEAD 




GOULD HOUSE 
Owned by Mrs. J. Mason Hoppin 




GOULD HOUSE— SOUTH SIDE 



19 

house passed through several hands until Mr. Sanford 
bought it some time ago. 

In South street, scarcely one mile in length, originated 
the Law School, the plan of the existing Constitution of Con- 
necticut, and Histories of Connecticut and Litchfield, the 
latter written by George C. Woodruff, grandfather of the 
present editor of the Enquirer. It boasts three Governors 
of the State, two Chief Judges, one Justice of the United 
States Circuit Court, six members of the House of Represen- 
tatives, one Signer of the Declaration of Independence, and 
two of the first law writers on the continent, a record 
probably unequaled by any street of equal length in the 
country. 

Before leaving South street it is interesting to note the 
unusual fact that North street is not a continuation forming 
one long street as in most old New England towns, but is 
quite a little farther to the west. At the time of the laying 
out of the town there is said to have been a magnificent oak- 
tree in the middle of the street if continued north from South 
street. The early settlers being unwilling to cut down so 
fine a tree, the street was built around it. 

Let us take the turn, cross the pretty park, and walk up 
North Street, which is not far behind in matters of historical 
importance. 

The third oldest house in town and one of the most beau- 
tiful, is the Gould house, until his death in the fall of 1906 
owned by Prof. James M. Hoppin of Yale University, well 
known for his literary works, especially in the realm of art, 
when it became the property of Mrs. J. Mason Hoppin 
of New Haven. It was built in 1760 by Elisha 
Sheldon. When Professor Hoppin bought the house of 
Miss Julia Gould in 1871, he had some repairs made 
and the garret floor was taken up. Under the floor 
was found a board on which was written in white chalk 
clear and plain, the date April 26, 1760. Hence there can 
be no doubt when the house was built. Samuel Sheldon took 
the house after his father and conducted the famous Sheldon 



20 

Tavern or Inn. In the northeast room George Washington 
spent one night, and in the morning kept a company of horse- 
guards waiting for him while he leisurely completed his 
toilet and finished breakfast. 

Samuel Sheldon sold the house to General Uriah Tracy, 
who came to Litchfield in 1780. General Tracy represented 
this town nine sessions of the Legislature, was a member of 
Congress three years, United States Senator eleven years, and 
was considered one of the most brilliant men of his day. 
He died at Washington in 1807. His daughter Sally 
married Judge James Gould, who was associated with Judge 
Reeve in 1798 in the Litchfield Law School. He was Judge 
of the Supreme Court of Connecticut from 18 16 to 18 19, 
and " Gould's Pleading " is a well-known legal work. He 
died in 1838, leaving the reputation of having been one of 
the greatest lawyers and jurists in the country. His daughter 
Julia sold the house to Professor Hoppin in 1871. 

About a mile west of the village at an abrupt turn of the 
road, stands a small one-story dwelling house. This build- 
ing stood originally in the yard of the Gould house, and was 
the private office of Judge James Gould, in which he heard 
the recitations of his classes and delivered the legal lectures 
which rendered his name famous all over the land. This is 
all that remains of the once celebrated Litchfield Law School, 
the first in the United States, begun in 1784, which attracted 
students from every state in the Union, and from which were 
graduated many of the most eminent jurists that our country 
has produced. 

Two houses below is the Tallmadge house, now owned 
by Mrs. John Vanderpoel of New York City. It was built 
in 1775 by Thomas Sheldon, of whom Colonel Tallmadge 
bought it in November, 1782. Colonel Tallmadge was born 
on Long Island and graduated at Yale in 1773. In 1776 
he received a lieutenant's commission in the army; later from 
General Washington himself, a captain's commission in Shel- 
don's famous Light Brigade, and was promoted to the rank 
of Major in 1777. His company made a fine appearance, all 




TALLMADGE HOUSE 
Owned by Mrs. John Vanderpoel 




RESIDENCE OF THE HON. J. DEMING PERKINS 
West Front 




RESIDENCE OF THE HON. J. DEMING PERKINS 
Garden Side 



21 



mounted on dapple-grey horses, black straps and black bear- 
skin covers. 

Major Tallmadge was very close to Washington, who 
had great confidence in him. At the close of the war Major 
Tallmadge was given the rank of Colonel, and was with 
Washington and his officers one of the incorporators of the 
Society of the Cincinnati, its first treasurer and later presi- 
dent of the Connecticut Society. Colonel Tallmadge mar- 
ried in 1784 Mary Floyd, daughter of General Floyd, one 
of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and made 
Litchfield his permanent home. In 1801 he was elected to 
Congress and served sixteen years. His Litchfield home 
was a great resort for Revolutionary officers, and when La- 
fayette visited this country in 1824 he came to Litchfield 
to see his friend Tallmadge after an interval of forty years. 
Colonel Tallmadge's store stood south of the house, and 
later was moved to become the wing of Mrs. Kilbourn's 
house. In the southeast room was his office. His wife used 
to powder his queue every morning. At one time, the son 
of Benjamin Franklin was confined in the house, a prisoner 
of war. His farmhouse was the building on the top of Pros- 
pect Hill now owned by Miss Susan White. One room was 
kept exclusively for Colonel Tallmadge and his wife to see 
the beautiful view. 

Directly opposite the Tallmadge house is one of the 
most beautiful residences in town, now owned by the Hon. 
J. Deming Perkins. It was built in 1793 by Mr. Perkins' 
grandfather, Mr. Julius Deming, and enlarged in 1890 by 
Mr. Perkins. Julius Deming was born at Lyme in 1755, 
became a merchant here in 178 1. He was a man of remark- 
able energy and enterprise. Soon after coming here he 
visited London and made arrangements to have his goods 
imported direct from that city; which probably could not be 
said of any other country merchant in New England at the 
time. Mr. Deming also with Colonel Tallmadge and Oliver 
Wolcott bought the ship Trident and opened trade with 
China, continuing it for fourteen years under the name of 



22 

the Litchfield China Trading Company. These three gentle- 
men also imported two hundred horses to improve the stock 
of the country. 

For many years one of the magistrates of the county, 
he went by the name of the " Crowbar Justice " and was 
universally recognized as the most thorough and successful 
business man who has ever lived in Litchfield. Mr. Deming 
was a prominent member of the Congregational church, and 
it is related that after one of the communion sacraments at 
a time when the entire service was of pewter, Colonel Tall- 
madge went to see Mr. Deming and asked him if it did not 
seem inappropriate that their tables should be set with silver 
while the table of the Lord was set with pewter. Mr. Dem- 
ing sharing his views, it was agreed that on one of his visits 
to New York he should order silver cups or flagons. The 
flagons are those now in use and were provided chiefly by 
the generosity of the gentlemen in question. Miss Lucretia 
Deming made this house her summer home, and started the 
long border of perennial flowers which is so noticeable to- 
day. At her death it became the property of her nephew, 
Hon. J. Deming Perkins. 

A house of great interest because there is no house now 
standing which remained the same length of time consecu- 
tively in the family of the original builder, is the house 
known as the Sheldon or Child house, and until her death 
a few years ago occupied by Mrs. Nathaniel R. Child. It 
was built by Dr. Daniel Sheldon in 1785. Dr. Sheldon was 
a prominent and beloved physician for more than forty 
years. His daughter Lucy was born in the house in 1788, 
who afterwards married Dr. Theron Beach, a prosperous 
merchant of the town. Mrs. Beach passed her entire life 
in the house, and when she died in 1889 lacked but a few 
months of 101 years. 

Mrs. Child preserved with care pictures, ornaments, and 
furniture of great interest and value. In the parlor were 
to be seen many pictures brought from France by Dr. Shel- 
don's son, Daniel Sheldon, Jr., Secretary of Legation to 




NORTH STREET, IN OCTOBER 



23 

France under Ambassador Gallatin. In the hall hung his 
dress sword; in the parlor was the oldest piano in Litchfield 
if not in the State. It was made in London over ninety years 
ago by G. Astor & Co., a brother of the first John Jacob 
Astor. On the death of Mrs. Child, the house became the 
property of Captain Edgar Van Winkle of New York, and 
the historic heirlooms and treasures were divided among 
the various heirs. 

Two houses below, the house now owned by Mr. Fred- 
erick Deming was built (a part of it), in 1797, by John 
Allen, who was a member of Congress for many years. John 
Allen was called " The Giant," and is said to have been over 
seven feet tall. He was so heavy that at his funeral the coffin 
was dropped on the steps by the bearers. Hon. Gideon H. 
Hollister, who owned the house at one time, wrote there his 
History of Connecticut. Mr. Edwin McNeill bought the 
house and greatly enlarged it, of whom Miss Clarissa B. 
Deming bought it later. Its present owner, Mr. Frederick 
Deming, bought it in 1884, and resides in it with his family. 

On the site of the beautiful modern colonial house owned 
by Mr. F. L. Underwood of New York stood Miss Pierce's 
school. "Miss Sarah Pierce opened a school in this town 
for the instruction of females in the year 1792, which has 
very generally merited and acquired a distinguished repu- 
tation. The school continued under her superintendence for 
nearly forty years, and its reputation was sustained a few 
years longer by her nephew, Mr. John P. Brace. Up to the 
time of the founding of this school, the education of young 
ladies, with few exceptions, had been neglected; the district 
school had limited their course of studies. Miss Pierce saw 
and regretted this, and devoted herself and all her active 
life to the mental and moral culture of her sex. The experi- 
ment succeeded entirely. This academy soon became the 
resort of young ladies from all portions of the country; 
from the cities and from the towns. Then the country was 
preferred as most suitable for females' improvement away 
from the frivolities and dissipations of fashionable life." 



24 

" During the forty years of the school under Miss Pierce's 
superintendence, she educated about three thousand young 
ladies. This school was for a long period the most cele- 
brated in the United States, and brought together a large 
number of the most gifted and beautiful women of the con- 
tinent. They were certain to be most methodically taught 
and tenderly cared for, and under her mild rule they could 
hardly fail to learn whatever was most necessary to fit them 
for the quiet but elevated spheres which so many of them 
have since adorned. Miss Pierce lived to the advanced age of 
eighty-three. She was small in person, of a cheerful lively 
temperament, a bright eye, and a face expressive of the most 
active benevolence. She was in the habit of practicing, her- 
self, all the theories that she taught to her pupils, and until 
physical infirmities confined her to her room, would take her 
accustomed walk in the face of the roughest March wind that 
ever blew across our hills. The intelligence of her death cast 
a shade of sadness over many a domestic circle, and caused 
many a silent tear to fall." 

While this School and the Law School previously de- 
scribed were in full and active life, Litchfield was famed for 
an intellectual and social position which is believed to have 
been at that time unrivaled in any other village or town of 
equal size in the United States. 

The schoolhouse was a small building of only one room, 
probably not exceeding 30x70 feet, with small closets at each 
end, one large enough to hold a piano, and the others used 
for bonnets and over garments. The plainest of pine desks, 
long plank benches, and an elevated teacher's desk consti- 
tuted the whole furniture. 

The school was situated in the middle of the land now 
occupied by Mr. F. L. Underwood's house, Miss Pierce's 
house being just south of it, and her brother and nephew, 
the latter subsequently associated with her in the school, 
living in a small red building on the site of the present par- 
sonage. 

A few of Miss Pierce's scholars boarded in her own 




BRICK OVEN FIREPLACE IN A LITCHFIELD HOUSE 




HISTORICAL SOCIETY PEWTER 




A LITCHFIELD PERENNIAL GARDEN 




JUNE ROSES IN A LITCHFIELD GARDEN 



25 

house built in 1803, but there was no boarding-school in the 
modern acceptation of the term. The rest of the pupils 
boarded with different families throughout the town, as did 
also those of the Law School. There were some years as 
many as one hundred or more belonging to each school.* 

" Imagine these now quiet streets with red coaches rat- 
tling through them, with signs of importer, publisher, gold- 
smith, hatter, etc., hanging on the shops, with young men 
arriving on horseback to attend the Law School and divide 
their attention between their studies of the law and studies 
of the pretty girls of the 'Female Academy.' Then there 
were some gay bloods from the South so much at home in 
the town that they disported themselves in pink gingham 
frock-coats. So said an eye-witness. To complete the pic- 
ture, there was the daily procession of school girls taking 
their exercise to the sound of flute and flageolet, and surely 
it was a lively scene." 

The first use of the violin in the town for a dance was in 
1748, the whole expense of the amusement, although the 
young people generally assembled, was one dollar, out of 
which the fiddler was paid. When this instance of profusion 
took place, parents, and old people exclaimed that they should 
be ruined by the extravagance of the youth. In 1798, con- 
tinues the same writer, " a ball with the customary entertain- 
ment and variety of music, cost about $160 and nothing was 
said about it. This serves to show the great change in the 
wealth and character of the people." 

Litchfield in 18 10 was quite a commercial and industrial 
center. The Gazetteer of the States of Connecticut and 
Rhode Island for 18 10 says: "The most important manu- 
factures in the town are those of iron, of which there are 
four forges, one slitting mill, and one nail factory. There 
are one cotton factory, one oil mill, one paper mill, two 
cording machines, six fulling mills, five grain mills, eighteen 

* The first Post Road was established between New York and Litchfield in 
1792. In the next six years succeeding, commenced what may be called the 
fcra ol lurnpikes and Stage Coaches, which continued in its glory for forty 
years. J 



26 

saw mills, five large tanneries, besides several on a small scale ; 
two comb factories, two hatters' shops, two carriage-makers, 
one cabinet furniture maker, three saddlers, and a number 
of house carpenters, joiners, smiths, and other mechanics. 
The population then was 4,639, and it was the fourth town 
in the State, only Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport 
exceeding it in point of population. There were four com- 
panies of militia and sixteen mercantile stores. That the 
town was a patriotic center can be learned from the part it 
took in the Revolution, but it was also public-spirited and 
particularly advanced in movements for education. Not only 
did the first law school in America have its beginnings in 
this little town, and the first school for the higher education 
of women but in the Monitor for 1798 we read of a public 
library as having been in existence for some time. The book 
stores not only advertised themselves in the weekly papers, 
but also the new books as they came to their shelves. There 
was a " Litchfield Lyceum " with its lectures, debates, and 
weekly meetings, and still farther in 1 83 1 we find a notice 
which proves that even at that early date the movement to- 
ward manual training was taking shape in the thought of 
these broad-minded men. A society was incorporated Octo- 
ber 27, 1 83 1, and a notice was published to the subscribers 
for stock in the Manual Labor High School of Litchfield 
County. Committee, Frederick Wolcott, Lot Norton, 
Orange Merwin, Tertius D. Potter, and Solomon Rockwell. 
Preparations were to be made for the choice of location, 
necessary buildings, etc. Also about this time we find ad- 
vertised a select school for business students, mathematics, 
and the languages, kept by M. R. Deming. 

In 1789, thirty years before the temperance movement in 
which the Rev. Lyman Beecher became so prominent, a tem- 
perance pledge was drafted and signed by many people. 
The original pledge was republished with other articles bear- 
ing upon the same subject in the Litchfield Enquirer of Sep- 
tember 26, 1833. While not the first temperance organiza- 
tion in the world, nevertheless the signing of this agreement 




RESIDENCE OF MRS. HENRY R. COIT 




RESIDENCE OF MRS. E. L. FERRY 




MODERN COLONIAL HOME 
of Dr. John L. Buel 




BUEL HOMESTEAD 



27 

is one of the most noted landmarks in the history of the tem- 
perance reform in America. 

Next above the Brace house was the old Deming house, 
still standing, now owned by Mrs. E. L. Ferry of New York, 
and enlarged by her in perfect keeping with the old style of 
the house. It was built in 177 1 by Lynde Lord, passed to his 
son, Lynde Lord, Jr., who sold it to William Deming, the 
father of Mrs. Ferry. 

On Prospect street, the Maxwell house, now owned by 
Mrs. W. H. Maxwell of New York, was built in 1786 by 
Reuben Webster. It was at one time the Congregational 
parsonage, and the Rev. George Richards lived there when 
pastor. 

On the corner of North street and Prospect stood the 
Beecher homestead, where Dr. Lyman Beecher, for sixteen 
years pastor of the Congregational church, from 18 10 to 
1826, made his home and reared his family. Henry Ward 
Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe were born there, and 
both received their education, the former his preparation 
for college, from Miss Sarah Pierce. 

Dr. Lyman Beecher was well known for his remarkable 
" Six Sermons on Temperance." He also organized in 18 12 
the Litchfield County Foreign Mission Society, the first Aux- 
iliary of the American Board. 

The house was built by Elijah Wadsworth in 1775, and 
after the Beechers left Litchfield became the home of a boys' 
school, kept for a number of years by the Rev. James Rich- 
ards, D.D., and called " The Elm Park Collegiate Institute." 

Some years ago what was left of the house was moved to 
another site, but the old Beecher well may still be seen on the 
beautiful grounds of the present owner of the property, Mr. 
Henry R. Jones of Brooklyn.* 

The Buel Homestead, in a commanding situation at the 
head of North street, was built by Alexander Catlin in 1778, 
and was bought by Dr. Henry W. Buel about the close of the 

*Rev. Horace Bushnell, D.D., was also born in Litchfield, in 1802. He was 
the author of well-known theological works, and pastor of the North Congrega- 
tional Church of Hartford for 27 years. 



28 

Civil War. Dr. Henry Buel was one of the leading phy- 
sicians of the State, and founded Spring Hill Sanatorium in 
1858. At that date there was a great need of small private 
sanatoriums for the treatment of nervous troubles, and 
Spring Hill was one of the earliest in the United States. It 
has been continued and enlarged by his son, Dr. John L. Buel. 
His handsome modern colonial house is at the head of North 
street on the east side and just south of the Sanatorium. 
On its site in Revolutionary times, stood a government depot 
for military stores, and another where the courthouse now 
stands, a military guard being stationed at both places night 
and day. Just below, about where Miss Van Winkle's house 
now stands, an iron foundry was situated, owned and run 
by Morse & Carrington, where a very superior quality of 
ore from Salisbury and Kent was made into anchors, the first 
and best in the country. 

Retracing our steps down North street toward the center, 
the next house of historical interest is the Lord house, built 
in 1785 by Oliver Boardman on Glebe Land. The east side 
of North street, from the corner of East street to the Lord 
house, was owned by the church and called Glebe Land. 

The land on which the house was built was either leased 
by or sold to Boardman by the church authorities, and bought 
of him by Sylvester Spencer, Litchfield's former real estate 
dealer. It was also owned by Samuel Beach, who sold it to 
George Lord, the brother of Augustus, who with his sister 
resided there until his death at the age of eighty-seven. His 
sister, Miss Lord, occupied the home until her death in the 
Spring of 1907 at the age of 80 years and 11 months, when 
the house descended to her nieces. The side doorstep, an 
immense block of stone, was brought from Salisbury, requir- 
ing twelve pair of oxen to draw it. 

On the site of the house now owned by Miss A. T. Bulke- 
ley, was an old house built by Michael Dickinson in 1765. 
He sold it to the Hon. Andrew Adams, chief justice of the 
State, who resided in it for twenty years. His mother, Mrs. 
Mary Adams, died there in 1803 at the age of 105 years, 




SPRING HILL SANATORIUM 
Main House 




AVENUE OF TREES 
Spring Hill Sanatorium 



2 9 

and had the unusual experience of living in three centuries, 
being born in 1698. And as if this were not enough she 
rode on horseback thirty miles in one day after she had 
passed her hundredth year. The Misses Edwards, grand- 
daughter of the first President Edwards, occupied it as a 
boarding-house for law students. It passed through various 
hands, until Capt. Charles Jones tore down the old house and 
built about 1850 the house now standing, which has been 
much enlarged by its present owner. 

The house now owned by Mrs. Henry R. Coit was built 
in 1770 by Dr. Reuben Smith, a prominent resident and 
physician, and was sold to the Hon. Asa Bacon in 1806. 
Judge Bacon was born in Canterbury, and was associated 
with Judges Reeve and Gould, bringing his entire school 
with him from Canterbury when he came here to settle. 
He was a prominent member of the Litchfield Bar and a 
man of fine personal appearance. 

Mr. Henry Coit, through his connection with the Bank 
and Shepaug Railroad, and in other ways closely identified 
for many years with all that pertained to the welfare of mod- 
ern Litchfield, bought the house of Judge Bacon, and lived 
there until his death. It is now occupied by Mrs. Henry R. 
Coit and her son, Mr. Charles H. Coit, with his family. 

The house now occupied by Mr. Elbert P. Roberts, one 
of Litchfield's real estate dealers, on the corner of North and 
East streets, was built in 1792 by Charles Butler, cashier of 
the Litchfield Bank. It was originally a story and a half 
gable-roofed house. In the early part of the nineteenth 
century it was bought by Frederick Deming, father of the 
present Mr. Frederick Deming of North street, who en- 
larged it and built on the east wing. When Mr. Deming 
moved to New York he sold the place to Oliver S. Weller, 
and the latter built the small building where the school now 
is, for a small store, where he sold dry and wet goods, chiefly 
the latter. After his death Mrs. Weller continued the busi- 
ness as long as she lived, when the house went to two nieces 
in Woodbury who are its present owners. On the death of 



3Q 

these ladies the house will be the property of St. Michael's 
Parish Church. 

Next door is the house owned by Miss Mary L. Phelps, 
the oldest house on East street, and one of the oldest in town. 
The plain old, substantial roomy type of house with its 
twelve-paned windows and magnificent elms shadowing the 
doorway, make it one of the principal attractions of the cen- 
ter. The house was built for a tavern in 1782 by John 
Collins, son of Rev. Timothy Collins, first pastor of the 
Congregational Church. There was a bar in the southwest 
front room, with the ballroom directly overhead. It was 
sold by John Collins to Aaron Smith and bought of the latter 
in 181 1 by Luke Lewis, Miss Phelps' grandfather, remain- 
ing in the family ever since. Mr. Lewis and his family 
moved in May 5, 18 12, and it is interesting to note that the 
night before there had been a heavy fall of snow, so that 
they moved all their possessions over on ox-sleds. When 
Mr. Lewis moved into the present Phelps house, his store 
was on North street, next to the Coit house. The store was 
built in 178 1 by Dr. Reuben Smith eleven years after he 
built the Coit house. Mr. Lewis moved it down next the 
Phelps house, and it is now occupied by Ralph Smith as a 
shop for the sale and repairing of old-fashioned furniture 
with the sign, " Ye Old Curiosity Shoppe " over the door. 
At the time of removal nearly all the stores were on North 
street. 

Passing along East street we come next to the United 
States Hotel, open the year round. Built in 1787 by David 
Buel, this popular and well-known hostelry is today probably 
the oldest hotel in point of continuous service now standing 
in the county if not in the State. Very few country hotels 
have entertained so many distinguished men and handsome 
women. As originally built, the whole top floor was a ball- 
room. This room has had many famous guests honored not 
only in Litchfield and Connecticut, but at the nation's capital. 
In 1824 the famous ball to Lafayette was given here. The 
hostelry was sold to John Phelps, and the house was well 




PHELPS' HOUSE 




LIBRARY CORNER 




UNITED STATES HOTEL 




ROBERTS' CORNER 



3i 

known under his regime. Among those who have owned or 
managed the United States Hotel are Eben Bolles, Denman 
Woodruff, Rufus Smith, and William Crossman. Mr. Smith 
cut up the famous ballroom into bedrooms and put on a new 
roof. Mr. Campbell, the present proprietor, married Mr. 
Crossman's daughter, and a few years hence made extensive 
alterations and improvements, but the glory and fame of the 
historical old hostelry cannot be forgotten by any moderniz- 
ing. 

Next to the hotel still going east is the Bissell house, 
the fourth oldest house now standing in the village. It was 
built by William Marsh in 1761. 

About three-quarters of a mile east, at a fork of the road 
stands a very interesting old house built in 1796, now owned 
by Edson Perkins. 

The first house erected on West street now standing is 
the George Kenney house, built by Eli Smith in 1780. 

The first Congregational Church stood about where the 
monument now stands in the middle of the green, was com- 
pleted about 1726 and sold at auction in 1762 after the 
completion of the second church, in which Lyman Beecher 
preached and where he delivered his celebrated six sermons 
on temperance. The third church, now Armory Hall, on 
the Torrington Road, was completed in 1829, and Dr. Loren 
Hickok was the pastor. The present church was dedicated 
in 1873, and Rev. John Hutchins has been the pastor since 
1895. A beautiful memorial window was placed in the 
church in memory of Dr. Henry W. Buel by his children. 

St. Michael's Episcopal Church was dedicated in 1851 
and is the third edifice, the first being built in 1749 about a 
mile west of the courthouse. The present church had a spire 
above the tower which was blown down in a storm a few 
years ago. Dr. Storrs O. Seymour, the present rector, is 
serving for a second term the parish with which the Seymour 
family has been identified for more than a hundred years. 
There are several beautiful memorial windows in the church, 
and in the vestibule will be noticed a stone mounted in brass 



32 

and suitably inscribed. This stone came from the Cathedral 
of Lichfield, Eng., presented by the dean and chapter 
through the kindness and interest of Miss Mary Benson of 
Brooklyn, N. Y. The first Methodist Episcopal Church 
was built on Meadow street in 1837; up to that time the 
early Methodists met in private houses and then in the town 
hall. The present church was dedicated in 1885 by Bishop 
Harris of New York. 

In 1888 St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Church was dedi- 
cated by Bishop McMahon. It has a fine situation in the 
middle of South street, and an able parish priest, Rev. P. M. 
Skelley. 

Before we leave ancient Litchfield, let us take a look at 
the historic tombs in the old cemetery at the foot of East 
Hill. The Wolcott plot is near the north end of the yard, 
marked by five monuments and four massive tables of marble 
and granite. The first table is inscribed to Oliver Wolcott, 
Sr., and the second to his son. 

Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge lies near the Wolcott 
tomb. The tomb of John Pierpont may be found, and 
those of two of the children of Lyman Beecher. The 
searcher will be rewarded by many quaint epitaphs and many 
names of historical interest will be found. 

Mention must be made of the first Litchfield paper, 
The Monitor, established in 1784, and highly important in 
its day. Its full name was The Weekly Monitor and Ameri- 
can Advertiser, and it was first issued the year of the Law 
School by Thomas Collier, printed on coarse blue paper on 
a sheet about one-third the size of the present Litchfield 
Enquirer. There were only three Litchfield advertisements, 
— Wm. Russell, stocking weaver, from Norwich, Eng., an- 
nounced that he was ready to make worsted, cotton, and 
linen jackets and breeches patterns, men's and women's stock- 
ings, gloves, and mitts. Zalmon Bedient, barber, offers cash 
for human hair; Cornelius Thayer, brazier, also calls atten- 
tion to his business. The Monitor was continued for a 
period of twenty-two years, for sixteen of which it had no 




THE HAWKHURST HOTEL 




ANCIENT MILE STONE 






33 



rival in the town, and it was at once the organ and oracle 
of the federal party in this region. Other shortlived news- 
papers, were The Witness, democratic, The Litchfield 
Gazette, The Litchfield Journal, The Miscellany The 
American Eagle, The Litchfield County Post, which was the 
forerunner of the present Litchfield Enquirer, The Litch- 
field Democrat, The Litchfield Sun, The Mercury The 
Democratic Watchman, and The Litchfield Republican, all 
weekly papers and continuing for a period varying between 
one and five years. The present Litchfield Enquirer is con- 
ducted by George C. Woodruff, and though a small paper 
is well known through the State. 

In closing this brief account of historical Litchfield, a 
word must be said of her as she is today. Local pride' as 
shown by individual enterprise or by the Village Improve- 
ment Society, founded in 1875, with Hon. George M. Wood- 
ruff for president, keeps the houses and streets in modern 
up-to-date condition, the whole town presenting a park-like 
appearance, the ancient trees arching overhead making 
Litchfield one of the prettiest of the old New England 
towns. 

In 1872 the Shepaug Valley Railroad was opened to the 
public, and today gives easy communication with New York, 
connecting with the Pittsfield express at Bethel. Through 
parlor cars from New York without change are put on for 
the summer some time in June. 

In 1892 the Fire Department Building was formally 
opened. It is handsomely equipped with all modern im- 
provements, and was the gift of the Hon. J. Deming Per- 
kins. Two large fires have devastated the business center 
of the town, in 1886 and 1888, but thanks to the generosity 
of this public-spirited citizen, no largely destructive fire is 
possible in the future. 

An excellent bank was founded here in 1856, a branch 
of the Phoenix Bank of Hartford, the first incorporation 
of which as a branch was in 1 8 14. It is called the First Na- 
tional Bank of Litchfield, is situated on North street, and 



34 

has for president, Hon. George M. Woodruff; vice-presi- 
dent, Mr. Charles H. Coit. 

A modern hotel, The Hawkhurst, is open from June 
until late in the fall. It was built about 1878, is situated 
half way up West Hill from the Shepaug station, and is a 
modernly equipped comfortable summer hotel with fine view 
of the lake and hills from the rear. 

The Foster School, which occupies the Hawkhurst from 
October to June, came to Litchfield in the fall of 1906 from 
Cornwall, where it had been established for several years. 

Under the watchful care and affectionate guidance of the 
Rev. Allen K. Foster, the head master, the school has just 
closed a most prosperous year. 

Nearly opposite is the Litchfield Club house, open to 
members through the summer months, with excellent modern 
dirt tennis courts where the State tennis tournaments have 
been held, fine large assembly room, where dances are fre- 
quently given, also stage for amateur theatricals and musi- 
cales. It was built in 1893. 

On East Hill is the small club house of the Litchfield 
Golf Club, a well-kept course leading golfers through an ex- 
ceedingly pretty country. Membership may be had for short 
or long terms. 

On the corner of South and East streets, overshadowed 
by the century-old trees, stands the public library which 
houses the Litchfield Circulating and Wolcott Memorial 
Libraries. Though built but a few years ago in 1902, its 
simplicity of style is in general harmony with the colonial 
appearance of most of the houses. The building was started 
by Mr. John A. Vanderpoel as a memorial to his grand- 
mother, Mrs. William Curtis Noyes, but he died before its 
completion, and the work was carried on by Mr. Vanderpoel's 
mother, Mrs. John Vanderpoel of New York and North 
street, Litchfield. The beautiful Tiffany window was placed 
there by Mr. Vanderpoel's widow as a memorial to him. 

A large addition under construction for the past two 
years, is now completed, and on the fifth of July the Dedica- 




CLUB HOUSE 




CLUB HOUSE WITH TEXXIS COURTS AT THE REAR 




'. ".> 







35 

tion of the building and Celebration of the 50th anniversary 
of the founding of the Litchfield County Historical Society, 
took place in the new Historical room. The Litchfield 
Historical Society was organized in 1893, tne Litchfield 
County Historical and Antiquarian Society, incorporated 
in 1856, having preceded it. It has a collection of Histori- 
cal heirlooms and treasures of rare interest. The collec- 
tion had outgrown its quarters and will be seen to better ad- 
vantage in the large handsome room now ready for it, in 
the new part of the building. The collection may be seen 
at any time by application to the Curator, Miss M. L. 
Phelps, and is open through the summer on special days. 
A large stained glass window, placed in the new part of the 
building as a memorial to the Litchfield County soldiers of 
the Revolutionary War by the Mary Floyd Tallmadge 
Chapter, D. A. R. of Litchfield, with the aid of contributions 
from descendants and others, was presented to the Historical 
Society at the above mentioned dedication and semi-centen- 
nial celebration with an interesting programme of patriotic 
addresses. It is a very beautiful one designed by Crownin- 
shield of New York, and represents a winged youth bearing 
a sword in one hand and a laurel crown in the other, gazing 
thoughtfully into the distance. The background of blue 
hills and meadow, as indeed the whole window, is especially 
fine in color and appropriate in design to its setting in the 
Library of a town among the hills. 

The Scientific Society was organized in 1902, and is 
making collections of Litchfield County species in all 
branches past and present. An interesting exhibit of birds, 
etc., of the county can already be seen. Informal lectures on 
scientific subjects are held monthly in the library building. 
In the new part of the building on the lower floor a fine 
large room is devoted to the uses of the Scientific Society 
and provides the place until now lacking for the exhibition 
of the interesting specimens already secured. 

A few doors below the library on South street, an old 
building has been transformed into an attractive little club- 



3° 

house for the new club for gentlemen, called " The Sanctum." 

In the center of the park is the memorial monument to 
the Litchfield soldiers who fell at the time of the Civil War, 
and west of it stands cannon and balls, presented by the Sec- 
retary of War as a part of the memorial. 

From the center we get a good view of the court house, 
a dignified, modern, granite building, with clock striking 
the hour and quarter hours. This is the third building; the 
first was burned in 1886 in the first great fire. In 1888 the 
business center was burned for the second time, and the new 
courthouse, which had just received its last coat of paint, 
took fire and like its predecessor of two years before, went 
up in fire and smoke. The present building was built in 
1897-8. 

Across the square, on the corner of North and West 
street, is the County Jail, so trimly kept that one would 
scarcely suspect its serious purpose in life. This is the 
second building; the jail of Revolutionary times was on East 
street on the site of the present school-house. In it were con- 
fined as prisoners of war, General Franklin, British governor 
of New Jersey, and Mr. Matthews, British mayor of New 
York City. The latter's traveling trunk and part of his 
traveling carriage were in possession of the Seymour family, 
Major Moses Seymour having been in charge of the jail at 
the time. The present jail was built in 1 8 1 2. 

On East street, near the corner of North street, in front 
of the Jail, stands the Whipping-post Elm, much in use at 
one time, twenty or thirty strokes being the usual punishment. 

If we take a drive out the West Goshen road, passing 
the beautiful home nestled in the hills and surrounded by 
beautiful woods, owned by Mrs. F. Norton Goddard of 
New York, widow of the well-known philanthropist, we 
come in time to an old farmhouse, the former home of Miss 
Mary Buel, a gentle sweet old lady who at her death gave 
her home to found a branch of the George Junior Republic, 
of which the parent institution is at Freeville, New York. 
There are now about thirty boys there under the superin- 




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37 

tendence of Mr. King, a college graduate, who is devoting 
his life to the work. The system of self-government prac- 
ticed is showing wonderful results both in Freeville and in 
the small branch here in Litchfield. It is an excellent work 
and should receive all the assistance possible. As the branch 
is not endowed much help is needed. 

A group of the boys is shown in the accompanying pic- 
ture. Two auxiliaries have been started during the year, 
one in New York and one in Litchfield to assist in the many 
needs of such an institution. It is to be hoped that an en- 
dowment fund will be secured before long. 

About a mile this side of Milton, is the scene of another 
good work — a vacation home for children through the 
Tribune Fresh Air Fund. The home is maintained as a 
memorial to Mr. Shepard Knapp of New York and Litch- 
field who died several years ago. It harbors more than a 
hundred children at a time, and entertainments are given 
from time to time to which the public is invited. 

It will be seen that Litchfield, with its healthful situation 
and beautiful hills, is an ideal place for work of the kind, 
and a most delightful resort at all times even in the bleak 
winter months, for those who truly love the beauties of 
Nature. We look back upon a past of historical importance 
and we look forward to a future of ever-increasing interest. 



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